Suffolk Event Junior Show Results

Suffolk Sale Order     Sale Report

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SCHEDULE

Friday, June 9
11:30am            Event registration at Crowne Plaza

1-4:30 pm        Educational sessions at Crowne Plaza    
1:00-2:00pm
Digital Suffolk 101 – Amanda Everts
Producer Panel: Lessons Learned for a Successful Operation – Bret Henderson, Bob Kimm, Evan Snyder, Jim Van Dyke. Moderator: Jeremy Geske
Farm to Table Direct Marketing of Lamb: Diane Russell, John Peck, Gwen Kitzan
Youth: Where’s the Meat? – Ann Kolthoff

2:15-3:15pm
Digital Suffolk 101 – Amanda Everts 
Producer Panel:Lessons Learned for a Successful Operation – Bret Henderson, Bob Kimm, Evan Snyder, Jim Van Dyke. Moderator: Jeremy Geske
New USDA Livestock Drug Regulations/Off-label Drug Use – Dr. John King
Youth: Shepardy- UJSSA Directors

3:30-4:30pm
Digital Suffolk: Advanced Options – Amanda Everts
Preventing Loss from Abortion Diseases- Dr. John King
Data 101: How to Improve Your Bottom Line – Ann Kolthoff
Youth: Creepy Crawlers  – Dr. Scott Greiner

*Small group sessions will be offered for “Using Ultrasound for Carcass Evaluation” on Friday and Saturday – signup will be arranged through the USSA

6 pm                Welcome dinner at fairgrounds followed by sale sheep preview.
                         – Meal included with event registration
                         – Youth corn hole tournament and ice cream sundae bar

Saturday, June 10
8:30 -10:30 am Breed Standard Discussion with Dr. Scott Greiner at the Fairgrounds (Goat Barn)
                            – Youth Track : Skill-a-thon  • Carcass Scanning • Lamb Cooking/Tasting (Gwen Kitzan)

Lunch on your own

Noon                Suffolk sale

Junior Show check-in is scheduled on Saturday, June 10 beginning 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Suffolk Sale until 4pm.

6 pm                Social Hour, Banquet Dinner Crowne Plaza
                       – Dinner Reservations required
                       – Lamb & chicken buffet for adults, pizza buffet and game room for kids.
                       – Foundation Program & Hall of Fame recognition to follow
                       – Suffolk Socializing & Entertainment

Sunday, June 11
8 am                Junior Show at fairgrounds*
*Pre-entry suggested. Junior Show check-in is scheduled on Saturday, June 10 beginning 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Suffolk Sale until 4pm. 

Educational Program

The Suffolk Event Educational Program

ONLINE BIDDING @ BREEDERSWORLD.COM!

Sale Catalog – Click to View – Suffolks start on page 13!

Registration/Entry Forms

Registration Form Word   PDF 
Registration Deadline:  Extended to May 25!

Sale Entry Form Word PDF
Sale Information Letter
Sale Entry Deadline: May 1 (must be faxed or emailed)

Junior Show Entry Form Word PDF
Junior Show Rules
Junior Show Deadline: May 27 (suggested but not required)

Click Here to Review Frequently Asked Questions
Click Here to Complete Interest Survey

Lodging Options

Holiday Inn Express (adjacent to meeting and banquet hotel)
217-529-7771
booking link: United Suffolk Sheep Association – Holiday Inn Express

Crowne Plaza (meeting and banquet site)
217-529-7777

Comfort Inn 
217-615-4445 – “Suffolk Sheep Block 2023” $115/night +tax
booking link: https://www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/xb66b2

Best Western
217-525-7420 – “Suffolk Sheep” for 10% off

Ramada Inn
217-523-4000 – “Suffolk Sheep” $101/night +tax

Camping
Illinois State Fairgrounds: 217-782-6661

The Suffolk Event Sponsors

Diamond Sponsors ($2500+)

Gold Sponsors ($1000-$2499)

Silver Sponsors ($500-$999)

ILLINOIS SUFFOLK SHEEP ASSOCIATION

Bronze Sponsors ($250-$499)

JMG SUFFOLKS, MN

Suffolk Event Sponsorship Levels Revised 4.28.23

The 2024 National Junior Suffolk Show, held in conjunction with the All-American Junior Sheep Show will be July 4-7 East Lansing, Michigan. 

To learn more: https://allamericanjuniorshow.com/

To view info on the Midwest Stud Ram Sale – including the sale and schedule visit: www.midwestsale.com

Online Catalog: https://www.midwestsale.com/catalog/

Livestream: https://www.dvauction.com/

Online Bidding: https://www.dvauction.com/

The Board of Directors of the United Suffolk Sheep Association wishes to extend gratitude to the membership for your participation in the recent vote on how animals should be presented at the National Suffolk Show and National Suffolk Sale. In recent history, there has been very few votes in the USSA that has seen this level of turnout. The membership vote related to the presentation of animals at the association sanctioned events has been counted and is for there to be no change; 77 in favor of the presentation change and 83 in favor of no change.

We thought it was important for our members to participate in the decision-making process. The Board was clear when this was put to the vote of the membership that we would abide by the wishes of the membership, and you have spoken.

Now that this vote is in the rear-view mirror, the exciting programs and projects we are continuing to work on can truly be front and center in the conversation. Going back to the Fall of 2020 with the Needs Assessment, we set the precedent for reaching out to you and actively soliciting your feedback and direction.

We heard you say that you wanted more opportunities to collaborate and more education, which is the focus of The Suffolk Event that was recently announced. We are working on a collaborative event that will bring all facets of our breed together. Coming together as Suffolk breeders, making new friends, and visiting with old ones while participating in new learning opportunities is the focus of The Event. We hope you will take home a nugget of new information that you can implement in your flock. A sale will provide an opportunity for members to sell their sheep or obtain some new genetics. A junior show will give youth an experience to get out with their sheep early in the season and develop new skills.

We aren’t trying to change an existing Suffolk event; we are creating an entirely new one that encompasses all things Suffolk. All ages, all segments, and all geographies are the target audience. It will move around in subsequent years, but the focus will be consistent in bringing together the many different and diverse Suffolk enthusiasts to celebrate the breed.

As we finished the strategic planning session last fall, a full list of committees and committee chairs was distributed to the membership. We are very proud of the work being done and are equally excited about the composition of those committees. The work being tackled is long overdue and, in some cases, has never been tackled before. The people chopping wood and carrying water are not just Board members – there is a herd (or flock, depending on where in the country you are) of active members who stepped up and asked to be part of those committees.

We are blessed to be surrounded by people who feel as strongly about the breed and are committed to the future. If you have the passion and the time to help, know that there are many opportunities to do so.

We know we need to do a better job talking about the accomplishments being made, and we are excited to share that. To that end, a report on committee progress will be distributed to the entire membership within the next several weeks, so you can see what else we’ve been working on to advance the breed we are all so proud to be a part of. No longer will the membership need to wait until the annual meeting to get a real glimpse into what we are striving to accomplish.

There is excitement in looking ahead to the future. There is real progress being made on real tasks that can make a real difference for our breed. Thank you again for your passionate engagement. Working together there is absolutely nothing we can’t make happen together for the Suffolk breed.

2023 USSA Suffolk Directory Dates:
Feb. 15 – Ad Commitment Deadline
March 1 – Ad info & payment due

*We’d like to get started on directory ads early this year! Consider finalizing your ad BEFORE lambing!!

Click Here for Electronic Ad Worksheet

USSA INFORMATIONAL MEETING
January 11, 2023
5pm pacific/ 6pm mountain/ 7pm central/ 8pm eastern

This meeting is scheduled for USSA members to connect with the USSA board via zoom to further discuss the membership vote. Members can join via computer or phone with the connection information below.

COMPUTER/DEVICE: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87494560019?pwd=ZFhHZlR4SGx6N2ZmQS85M2F4RVI0dz09

PHONE: 1 305 224 1968  

Meeting ID: 874 9456 0019
Passcode: 760780

The United Suffolk Sheep Association board of directors (including both the outgoing and incoming members of the board who were able to participate) came together in Des Moines on October 28, 29, and 30^th for an internal strategic planning session.

As the board reviewed the discussion topics that had been submitted ahead of time by the meeting participants and past five association presidents, our internal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, the membership needs assessment that was conducted in 2020, the notes and take-aways from the 2016 strategic planning session, and the 2013 membership survey, we approached the meeting with the overarching thought processes of:

• What needs to be done to keep the USSA financially viable, and
• What can we do to address the needs and wishes of our membership

The following are the committees for the coming year, and their assignments as well as respective committee chairs.

Digital Suffolk Committee, Diane Russell, Chair
With the transition to the new registry program and associated data management capabilities, there is an immediate focus on what can be done to train and educate Suffolk breeders on the additional features and how to use them, an understanding of what cost and benefits could look like if we were to pursue outside opportunities, and finalizing the automatic uploading of performance and genetic measurements and testing.

A Suffolk Event, Tom Begg, Chair
For the last few years there has been an identified need and desire to organize an all-encompassing destination breed event that incorporates the diversity of the breed and all aspects of the membership (both junior and senior).  The intent is to boldly and proudly showcase the breed and convey our excitement about the future. It will be an event for all Suffolk breeders to come together to network, learn, and have fun celebrating our breed.

Marketing & Outreach, Brenda Reau, Chair
We need to do more to reconnect at a grass roots level with state sheep organizations, for both the breed and the larger sheep community.  We can do a better job onboarding of new members as well as communicating and engaging with our existing members.  Our online and industry presence will receive the attention that it needs to promote our great breed.

Breed Improvement, Lloyd McCabe, Chair
Tremendous strides have been made via the breed improvement committee over the last few years, and with the committee chair change to Lloyd, we expect this to only continue.  We have identified and can all agree that the breed should be fast growing, structurally sound, heavy muscled, and look like a Suffolk.  The one significant item that came out of the meeting is that as a breed, we see no place for the “D” or dwarf gene, and believe that is counter to the breed’s larger role in the industry.  As such, there will be no tolerance for sheep carrying the D gene at association sanctioned shows or sales. 

Budget, Carol Heupel, Chair
With the operating budget as well as the investment account, the responsibility of looking after finances for the breed will continue to exist under the budget committee.  The Digital Suffolk program and the opportunities it presents, as well as researching the best way to provide service to our membership and the associated fee structure will be under the oversight of this committee.

Education, Bill Zwyers and Dennis Sorensen, Co-Chairs
Lots has been done, and lots more needs to be done as we look at how we can better serve our membership and the sheep industry at large.  We have heard from you that education is an important role for USSA. There will be significant overlaps between this committee and The Digital Suffolk, Marketing and Outreach, Events, and Breed Improvement committees to provide the best educational efforts to meet your needs.

Strategic Planning, Jeremy Geske, Chair
We have identified some significant undertakings, and know that we have to hold ourselves accountable to what we pledged to one another in the meetings.  We also owe it to our membership to aggressively pursue forward momentum for the breed and association.  As chair of the strategic planning committee, Jeremy and this committee will help us hold one another accountable to the necessary deliverables as well as continue to look out front to see what else we need to get done.

The final significant take away from the session is that we will be reaching out to the membership for their vote on an issue that has been discussed, surveyed, and talked about for years.  We will be performing a membership vote during the month of January on how they want to see sheep presented (slick shorn within 30-days of the event or make no change) at the association sanctioned events. The board will implement based on the outcome of the vote, with the potential modifications happening in calendar year 2024.  As has always been the case, we are not seeking to tell the membership what type of sheep they can raise.  We are simply asking the voting membership how they want to see animals presented at their national events, and will respect the outcome of that vote.

All committees, with the exception of Budget and Strategic Planning, are open to add some interested association members.  Additional information will be immediately forthcoming on how to express interest and pursue involvement. We welcome the talents and commitment of the membership in partnering with board members on the committees.

Board Discussion Points

2004 Survey Results
2006 Survey Results
2013 Survey Results
2020 Needs Assessment